The Minnesota GOP Is Being Evicted From Its HQ

The Republican Party of Minnesota has been served an eviction
notice at its headquarters in St. Paul.

Minnesota in Politics first
reported on Monday that Hub Properties Trust filed the
paperwork last week after the party failed to pay rent for the
past year.

“Tenant remains in default under the lease by failing to pay in
full when due, rent from April 2011 through the present,”
according to the court filing. “As of April 1, 2012, the tenant
owes landlord a total of $111,192.14.”

Because of a security deposit and several partial payments, the
outstanding debt comes about $96,000.

Secretary-Treasurer Bron J. Scherer revealed earlier
this month that the party had stopped paying rent and was
attempting to negotiate a new lease because it was more than $1.2
million in debt.

“Our landlord took the step of filing some court papers,”
Republican Party Chair Pat Shortridge told
MPR News on Monday. “They’re certainly within their
rights. I don’t agree with their decision because I think we’ve
making some progress on figuring this out. We’re not going
anywhere. We’re not going to get evicted. We’re not going to have
any long-term issues. I think we’re going to get this solved.”

Former Minnesota Republican chairman Tony Sutton abruptly
resigned in December 2011. When he took the position in 2009, the
party had approximately $1 million in the bank, according
to the Star Tribune.